#RIPEllen
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About
#RIPEllen is a hashtag used to catalog posts featuring people offering mock condolences for the faux death of talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, posting pictures of other blonde celebrities instead of photos of Ellen. However, reports of DeGeneres' death were untrue.
Origin
The earliest known post using the hashtag from this day was in a conversation between Twitter[9] user @swuboca and @_wigster_ about a woman named Ellen, who they report as a dead (shown below).
Spread
That day, Twitter user @Remysglock posted a video that shows Ellen DeGeneres and reads, "A celebration of life 1958 – 2020" (shown below).
Rip ellen😢💔 pic.twitter.com/Jz7MA5oo5y
— ❥ONIKAS BTTM (@Remysglock) July 7, 2020
Throughout the day, people posted variations of the joke. On July 7th, 2020, Twitter [1] user @taylornology retweeted a 2009 post by Taylor Swift that reads, "@justinbieber Guess who KILLED IT on @theellenshow…… (you)." @taylornology commented, "guysss justin bieber killed Ellen 😭 #ripEllen." The tweet received more than 6,000 likes and 500 retweets in less than one day (shown below, left).
People continued to confuse other blonde cultural figures for DeGeneres. For example, Twitter[2] user @tobesostill tweeted a photograph of singer Niall Horan and wrote, "i found this beautiful picture of Ellen as a kid. May her soul rest in piece. 1958-2020 #ripellen." The tweet received more than 13,000 likes and 1,400 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, center). Twitter[3] user @rosslynchcumrag posted four images of Frankie Grande and wrote, "#RIPELLEN you will be missed." The post received more than 8,500 likes and 700 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).
Several media outlets covered the hashtag, including the New York Post,[4] HITC,[5] The Daily Dot, [6] Cosmopolitan,[7] Junkee[8] and more. The New York Post theorized that the hashtag took off due to rumors that DeGeneres' television show The Ellen DeGeneres Show might be canceled. They wrote:
Not to worry, E.D. isn’t dead -- the tweets were reportedly in reference to rumors last week that “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” might get axed, which spawned a viral death hoax.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @taylornology's Tweet
[2] Twitter – @tobesostill's Tweet
[3] Twitter – @rosslynchcumrag's Tweet
[4] New York Post – Why #RIPEllen is trending on Twitter: Ellen DeGeneres death hoax goes viral
[5] HITC – WHY IS ‘RIP ELLEN’ TRENDING ON TWITTER? SOCIAL MEDIA HOAX GOES VIRAL!
[6] The Daily Dot – #RIPEllen is trending, but Ellen DeGeneres isn’t dead
[7] Cosmopolitan – An Ellen DeGeneres Death Hoax Went Viral and #RIPEllen Memes Are All Over Twitter
[8] Junkee – Someone Started A Rumour That Ellen Died, So People Are Paying Their “Respects” With #RipEllen
[9] Twitter – @swuboca's Tweet
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